The escalation in environmental and climate-related risks comes on the heels of a year marked by high-impact hurricanes - Harvey, Irma and Maria - which caused widespread damage in the United States and the Caribbean, by extreme temperatures and the first increase in global CO2 emissions in four years.

Speaking on the report, Alison Martin, Chief Risk Control Officer of Zurich Insurance Group, said: “Extreme weather events have been ranked as the highest overall risk in terms of likelihood and impact. Environmental risks, coupled with growing vulnerability to other risks, now seriously threaten the very foundations of most of our commons. Unfortunately, the reaction of governments and organizations to climate change is far too late. It is not yet too late for a more resilient future, but we must act with a stronger sense of urgency to avoid the collapse of the system as a whole. The report was released days before the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos which will be attended by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa.In Davos, the top UN Climate Change official will meet with government leaders and non-state actors to push forward the implementation of thethe Paris Agreementon Climate Change, a key international agreement designed to limit the global average temperature to well below 2°C, preventing the worst consequences of climate change.

The report highlights that climate action initiated by a growing network of cities, states and businesses is emerging as an excellent way to combat climate change and other environmental risks.

The report also highlights many areas where we are pushing systems to their limits, whether by causing too high a rate of species extinction, a massive reduction in biodiversity, putting agricultural systems under stress and the world's food supply in danger; air and sea pollution are becoming an increasingly pressing threat to human health as well. Some of these risks could then lead to a series of events – large-scale displacements, water shortages – that would jeopardize social, political and economic stability in many parts of the world.